Three observations to make from Titus 3: 1) Portrait of an unhelpful Christian life2) Portrait of a beneficial Christian life3) The factor that makes all the difference 1) Portrait of an unhelpful Christian life (vv. 9-11) In vv. 9-11, Paul lists four traits of someone who is going to be largely unhelpful in the church and…
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1) The foundation of Christian conduct (v. 1) The foundation of Christian conduct is: sound doctrine. “But as for you [Titus] teach what accords with sound doctrine” (v.1). As pastor of the church in Crete, one of Titus’ primary roles is that of a teacher. So should it be of all pastors. After Jesus’ death…
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You read a title like this one and think, “Yeah, right! Nobody knows that.” Well, that may be true, but you’ll have to decide for yourself after reading this. I think there’s something to be said for the secret I’m about to share. What makes life unhappy? Hardship. Suffering. Trials. These make life unhappy. But…
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The book of Titus contains God’s game plan for the Christian life. A couple of weeks ago we looked at the first two plays in our playbook; the first set of “X’s and O’s”: bringing the lost to faith and training the saved for godliness. We’ll continue to study this playbook today by looking at…
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Life is liking walking through a minefield. You never know what the next step will have in store for you. However, the book of Proverbs is like having a map showing you where all the mines have been buried; “step here, step there, don’t step over here…” While often overlooked, I wonder if we Christians…
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Titus 1:1-4 tells us about Paul’s ministry patterns and principles. Because we are part of the apostolic ministry, these patterns and principles Paul adopted, ought to be patterns and principles we adopt as we execute God’s game plan for the Christian life. We’ll consider two patterns of Christian practice we need to cultivate in our…
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While it may not jump off the page at you, the main theme of this chapter is idolatry. So we’re going to ask and answer the following questions: 1) What is idolatry?2) How is idolatry diagnosed?3) How is idolatry cured? 1) What is idolatry? When we hear the term ‘idolatry’ we think of wooden or…
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It’s my prayer to see the local church be a place where people are given a taste of the new heavens and the new earth. The church is meant to be a harbinger of heaven to come. If the church is going to do that well, it must possess compassion. Without compassion, a church will become judgmental,…
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How does God’s grace affect change in people? I don’t know for sure, but sometimes I wonder if our mental picture of God’s grace is something that is soft, warm, and cuddly. If grace was personified it would be that newborn baby in the hospital nursery swaddled while everybody on the other side of the glass…
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